Your Right to Know

WASHINGTON — Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., whose last day as House majority leader was Thursday, said
yesterday that he would resign his seat effective Aug. 18 in hopes that his successor will be able
to participate in the lame-duck session after the November elections.

Cantor, 51, made the announcement in an op-ed article published on the
Richmond Times-Dispatch website.

He lost the Republican primary in his Northern Virginia district in June to David Brat, a
little-known and more conservative candidate with tea party backing. The results shocked Washington
and led to a shake-up in the House leadership after Cantor said he would resign as the No. 2 House
Republican.

But the news that he would give up his seat early was a surprise.

“It is vitally important that the constituents have a clear and strong voice during the
consequential lame-duck session of Congress,” Cantor wrote in the
Times-Dispatch. “The issues that will be considered during the lame-duck session this year
will be crucial to the future of our country.”

Cantor, who has served in Congress for 14 years, said that he would ask Virginia Gov. Terry
McAuliffe, a Democrat, to call a special election for his seat on Nov. 4 — the same day as the
general election — a move that would allow the winner to take Cantor’s seat immediately rather than
wait for the next Congress to be seated in January. The winner would also enjoy seniority over the
other representatives first elected that day.

Gregg Harper, R-Miss., said that he was surprised by Cantor’s resignation.

“I had not heard any rumblings that he might leave early,” Harper said. “From a selfish
standpoint, I hate to see him leave, but from a personal standpoint, I respect him.”

Virginia’s 7th Congressional District is conservative, which would favor Brat’s chances in
November, when he will face the Democratic nominee, Jack Trammell, and James Carr, a
Libertarian.

Cantor gave no indication that he was considering an early exit from Congress during an
emotional address on Thursday as he stepped down as majority leader. But in retrospect, that speech
seemed more like a farewell address to colleagues.

In recalling his service in Congress, he said he would treasure memories of “walking into this
building and onto this floor that excited me every day since I was first elected to Congress.”